Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Move along, ain't nothing to see here, they just found a nameless Black woman no one knew was missing

On Tuesday a body was found floating in a creek in Indiana and there was speculation that it could be that of 20 year old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer, but an autopsy proved otherwise and the Associated Press went on to report:

Marion County coroner Frank Lloyd says the body retrieved Sunday from Fall Creek is that of a young black woman who had possibly been in the water for more than two weeks. Lloyd says the woman's identity wasn't immediately determined from an autopsy Tuesday.

Reading that passage prompted a few questions:

Who is the Black woman who was found floating?

Did the press know she was missing and if so how come her disappearance did not receive the coverage of Ms. Spierer's disappearance?

Once she is identified will we learn anything about her, or does the media/society care?

Did they throw her back?

The last question may seem insensitive and inconsiderate, but it can't be anymore insensitive or inconsiderate than the fact that her disappearance received such little or no coverage that once her race was discovered the media moved on.

Many of us feel there is a disparity when it comes to how missing persons cases are covered in the media as it relates to the attention given to white females versus that Black females. The discovery of this body and reaction once it turned out it was a Black woman, just drives home to this point.

Ms. Spierer's family, friends and acquaintances deserve answers, they need to know where she is, what happened to her and who, if anyone, is responsible for her disappearance. The family, friends and and acquaintances of the unnamed Black woman deserve the same. Sadly, the media platform given in cases like these does not treat all victims the same.

Oh by the way today is the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Tionda and Diamond Bradley, thanks to Chicagoist for pointing that out. While the Chicago media has done an excellent job covering their story, the national media never really paid it too much attention. If only they belonged to a different demographic . . .